Flash of Light
by historylover
Summary: Happy Fourth of July!


A/N: I don't know why I'm writing this. Just something that caught my imagination while watching a few fireworks on the 4th. Just a pointless drabble.

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

**Flash of Light**

"When's fireworks?" Dean asked Mary for the 500th time. Or so it seemed to her. She promised her four-year-old that this year, he would be able to stay up for the Fourth of July fireworks, and he reminded her of it every two minutes.

"Not until it gets dark, Peanut," she answered again as she set their sandwiches on the park bench. Mrs. Cooper from the church near them offered to babysit two-month-old Sammy. She also offered to babysit Dean, just so Mary could get out of the house. Because John had left after a fight. Again. And Mrs. Cooper bluntly told Mary that she needed to get out of the house.

What a better day than Independence Day? Lawrence always went out for the Fourth. Mary had been wanting to get out to the park anyways. But, she figured that a 70-year-old woman probably wouldn't be able to handle a hyperactive four-year-old. Besides, she was planning on being back for two or three hours for Dean's nap. It was nice to be out of the house again.

"Why couldn't Sammy come?" Dean asked, his mouth full of peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Because fireworks get loud, and Sammy may get scared. He's just a baby, y'know."

Dean played with his duck that Mary got for him for the rubber duck race. It placed 23rd out of 200. "But he'll miss it!"

"You'll be able to tell him all about them. After all, it'll be your first time at the fireworks as well."

Dean continued playing with his duck. Then he laid it gently on the table. "I think I'll give him to Sammy."

"Your duck? I think Sammy will like it."

Dean looked over at the carnival. "Can I go on the roller coaster?"

Mary looked over at the roller coaster, which looked like it fall down if someone breathed on it wrong. "Absolutely not. Besides, you will be needing a nap soon."

Dean's face fell. "Don't wanna nap," he mumbled around his sandwich.

Mary reached over and put her hand on her son's knee to stop him from swinging his legs. "You want to stay up for fireworks, right? Maybe we can go swimming afterward we take a nap."

Dean's face lit up as he eagerly nodded.

Mary took a bite of her sandwich and looked over Dean's head to a man who was looking at her with an odd expression on his face. Every hunter's instinct told her that this man was trouble for a second. Then, the man turned away and bought the little girl he was walking hand-in-hand with a balloon.

_Just my imagination,_ she told herself. She focused back on Dean. "Almost ready to go?

* * *

><p>"When's fireworks?" Dean asked again.<p>

Mary gently turned Dean around from heading into the deep end of the pool and steered him back to the shallow end. This was his second year of swim lessons, and he was doing amazing. She didn't think that he was ready to go past the 4-foot end yet. "In about 4 hours," she answered.

"How long's that?"

She pulled herself out of the pool and lifted Dean out. "After supper," she said as she turned for their towel. When she turned around, Dean was nowhere to be seen. An icy wave of panic grabbed her throat. It loosened itself long enough for her to call his name.

She hurried over to the deep end of the pool, praying to everything she could think of that he wasn't in there. He wasn't. One of the lifeguards came over to her and pointed, "Is that your son, Miss?" he asked.

She followed his pointing finger to see Dean taking an ice cream cone from the man who had been staring strangely at her in the park. _I just looked away for a second! _ran through Mary's head, chased closely by her old hunter's instincts kicking in. She hurried away from the lifeguard.

The man continued to look at her strangely as Mary ran up to them. She looked into his eyes, but they were hidden in shadow. She didn't know what color they were. He didn't say a word as she grabbed Dean's arm. "Thank Christo you found him," she said. "I was worried he fell into the deep end!"

She couldn't tell if the man flinched or not, but her instincts were slowing giving way to the argument that she was no longer a hunter. She wanted out of that life, and here she was trying to step back into it. In front of her young son.

"I can understand," the man suddenly said. "My daughter seems to be able to set new speed records when I turn my back for a moment."

She dragged Dean away and grabbed his ice cream cone. "What did I tell you about talking to strangers?"

Dean scrunched up his brow. "Not to do it?"

"Yes."

"Jenny is in my swim lessons."

Mary stopped. She suddenly remembered the little girl. She didn't even think about her until now. "Is that his daughter?" At Dean's nod, she continued, "Still, he is a stranger, and you know better than talking to strangers."

"Why?"

She knelt in front of her son so she could look him in the eyes. "Because there are a lot of evil things in the world. Bad things. Things that can hurt you. And I would be very sad if anything hurt you."

Dean looked down. "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you, too, Peanut."

He looked up again. "Mommy, can Daddy come to watch fireworks with us?"

Mary sighed. "Maybe." At the flash of Dean's big, sad eyes, she added, "Do you want to come to his shop and ask him?" He nodded happily, and she continued, "Let's get changed and we can see if he's there to ask him."

Dean eagerly pulled her arm and lead her into the dressing rooms.

* * *

><p>"Is it time for fireworks?" Dean asked as Mary spread a blanket on the ground.<p>

"Just about," she said, looking at the darkening sky. "Sit down, Peanut."

"Can I go on the slide?"

"No. Stay here."

Dean hesitated, looking over at the park, as if considering what would happen if he quickly ran over there. But, he sat down on the blanket instead. "Will Daddy be able to find us?"

"If he decides to come."

"He said he would. Daddy keeps his promises."

Mary ruffled Dean's hair. "Yeah."

"Are you sure Sammy would be frightened of the fireworks?"

"I'm sure."

Dean rolled his toy Impala around on the blanket, making vroom noises, as Mary smiled up at another mother whose son was in Dean's preschool. For the life of her, Mary couldn't remember the woman's name.

As she looked away from the woman, she caught sight of the strange man staring at her. _What's his problem? _The instincts asked wearily.

Before she could tell Dean to stay where he was and take some holy water over to the guy, Dean squealed with delight. "Daddy!"

She looked over as Dean practically flew over other people's blankets and coolers to reach John, who caught him in midair.

Mary forgot about the man as John came up, carrying Dean, who was babbling about their day. He still had the power to make her weak in the knees and forget about everything else, in spite of their many arguments.

"Sounds like you two had a busy day," John said to her as he put Dean down. He sat down on the blanket, and Dean crawled into his lap. "Sure you won't fall asleep during the fireworks?"

Dean vigorously shook his head. "No, Daddy!"

"Well, I might. Will you wake me if that happens?"

Dean giggled at that as Mary sat down beside her two boys. She looked around, but the strange man was nowhere to be seen.

Just then, a flash of red filled the darkening sky, followed by a loud bang. Dean bounced in John's lap and clapped his hands. Immediately, a silvery sparkle-y firework burst out, and Dean reached out, as if he could touch it.

Mary looked up at the fireworks, bursting over their heads and listened to John and Dean laugh at them in delight. The fireworks were always too short. In no time, they would be over.

A wave of sadness swept over Mary, and she shivered with chills in the hot, still July air.

End.

A/N: I feel so out of practice now. So, sorry for any OOC things here. I can't seem to get this right. Oh well. Hope you halfway enjoyed it.


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